Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 356: Thankfully Well I

Chapter 356: Thankfully Well I

Daphne had nothing to do in the infirmary, and she felt like she was losing her mind in the silence.

Most of the other healers had already vacated the infirmary to help Sirona and Nathaniel deal with the multitude of casualties that Jonah reported he had found, leaving her with a tiny bell to ring if she needed medical treatment.

She slowly walked around the room before deciding to finally sit at Silas’s bedside. If not for the slight movement of his chest, she would have thought she was sitting next to a corpse.

Then again, if Sirona and Nathaniel didn’t come up with a solution in time, there was no escaping this grim fate.

She sighed, holding her head in her hands. Everything had gotten so complicated in such a short time. Daphne looked out of the window, her thoughts straying to Zephyr and Nereus. They could have all died with her if the confrontation with Alistair had gone any worse. If she hadn’t summoned water from the pipes to bolster their escape, perhaps they wouldn’t have even made it out alive.

Come to think of it... Daphne peered more carefully at her wedding ring. Was it just her imagination, or did the entire ring seem duller than usual? She held it up to the light and gasped.

The aquamarines were clouded and cracked. Daphne hurriedly scrubbed at the ring, hoping that it was simply dirt obscuring their shine, but there was no improvement.

The gems were ruined from the inside.

Daphne felt her heart sink. She didn’t even realize it was possible for gems to end up like this, least of all the Symphony, which was a priceless artifact in its own right. Atticus had spent a million gold pieces on it, and she managed to ruin it not even a year into their marriage.

It was a priceless artifact to boot!

Since it was damaged, did it mean that she could no longer use it to summon water? There was only one way to find out.

Daphne hastily walked to the jug of water by her bedside and waved a hand over it, willing it to jump to her fingers, the way it so easily did before.

However, this time, the water merely rippled― possibly caused by the tiny movement of her hand, rather than any real water magic.

Daphne slunk back to her seat, rubbing her ring in disappointment. The aquamarines felt warm to the touch, but nothing came out of it. But before she could lose herself in her negative thoughts, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It’s me!" Zephyr’s smiling head popped out from the other side. "Daphne, are you okay?"

"Zephyr!" Daphne hurriedly walked towards him so she could take a closer look. "I should be asking you this question! You’re looking well though. Have you healed?"

She hadn’t seen him since she woke up, but Zephyr looked hale and healthy, his cheeks pink with boyish pleasure as he bit into a bread bun. The feathers on his wings were neat and tidy, and their plumage was an impressive reddish gold.

"I’m perfectly fine. It takes more than a madman to get the better of me!" Zephyr said proudly, puffing up in pleasure.

"Then what about Nereus?" Daphne asked hopefully, looking behind Zephyr as though she half-expected Nereus to be following behind. Zephyr’s face fell slightly.

"He’s... not doing too well, but it’s a lot better than before! Do you want to see him? They gave us a room to share."

"Yes," Daphne said immediately.

She gave Silas one last considering look, before closing the infirmary door. Silas would be fine, she reassured herself. Nathaniel mentioned that the sedative would last for at least an hour.

"Where is he?" she turned to Zephyr and asked. "I heard he lost an eye? How on earth did that happen?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Zephyr shrugged. "I didn’t think his eye was injured, to begin with, but maybe things got worse afterward when we were unconscious. They wouldn’t remove his eye for no good reason otherwise― that’s like me plucking out a wing!"

Daphne nodded with a sigh. In a few short minutes, they arrived at another room.

"We’re staying here now. Just a word of warning, he’s living in one of the bathtubs and he’s so grouchy about it," Zephyr explained. "They don’t want to throw him back into the lake, in case Alistair decides to come back and finish the job."

"I see..." Daphne pursed her lips.

Zephyr then knocked on the door.

"Nereus, are you awake? You’ll never guess who is here for a visit!" Zephyr hollered.

"What now," came Nereus’s soft, displeased voice. "If you’re referring to the kitchen maids, I’ll drown you in the tub." He sounded like he was far away, but Daphne’s eyes teared up at his voice.

Back then, she believed she wouldn’t ever be able to hear it again.

"Daphne, he called you a kitchen maid. I think you should have him punished," Zephyr said mischievously.

"It’s not funny," Nereus’s peevish voice echoed from the room. "If this is another prank of yours―"

"Nereus! It’s me, Daphne! Can I come in?"

"...Daphne?" Then she heard a loud slosh, as though someone had spilled water all over the floor.

"Nereus! You’re soaking the carpet! Get back inside! Daphne doesn’t need to see all of you!" Zephyr complained, but he still opened the door for Daphne to step inside.

Daphne gingerly stepped over the splashed water, only to see Nereus staring at her with a look of utter shock in his one remaining eye, as he tried to clamber over the bathtub.

There was an empty socket where his other eye used to be. Her eyes then roved over his body; cataloging the litany of freshly healed scars, their dark scabs a clear contrast against his paler skin. Daphne’s heart ached, and she bit her lower lip to stop herself from bursting into tears.

Nereus saw her expression and panicked, trying to hide his deformity from her view and nakedness from her view. Curse Zephyr for doing this without warning! Daphne was a princess, even as a magical creature he knew about propriety.

That bird must have hit his head on too many branches as a chick!

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